tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post8262596355441055963..comments2023-09-12T06:18:38.552-04:00Comments on The World in the Satin Bag: New Weird Science Fiction?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571452656553970472noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-33307815525320409932009-08-18T08:05:03.050-04:002009-08-18T08:05:03.050-04:00Larry: Thanks for the advice. I remember that an...Larry: Thanks for the advice. I remember that anthology, but never read it. I'll see if I can't poke my head in there, and I'll look for the intro on Mr. VanderMeer's blog.<br /><br />Appreciate the comment.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13571452656553970472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-87699225784895032842009-08-17T21:17:02.994-04:002009-08-17T21:17:02.994-04:00I would strongly suggest that you read The New Wei...I would strongly suggest that you read <i>The New Weird</i>, an anthology by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer that touches upon the origins of the term, the debates surrounding the title, and the question of if that ship has passed. <br /><br />It's very much a cross-genre "moment" of literatures in the US, UK, and in some non-Anglophone regions where disparate elements are combined to create atmospheric stories that have some connections to the old <i>Weird Tales</i> pulps. I believe VanderMeer posted his introduction to the antho on his blog a few months ago, so perhaps you can start there?Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-87048799279002153822009-08-17T08:21:22.799-04:002009-08-17T08:21:22.799-04:00Is New Weird a conscious movement? Does it know t...Is New Weird a conscious movement? Does it know that that is what it is doing, or are its players simply doing something for the heck of it and damned all to the deeper implications?<br /><br />On PKD: He was very much a reactionary author. Read his non-fiction. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was pretty much a direct reaction to consumer culture and the robotic nature of society. Seriously, read his essay on the android personality. A lot of things people don't know about Dick is that he was incredibly socially aware. He may have written a lot of "pulp" novels, and certainly done a lot of it to feed himself, but his work was by no means non-reactionary.<br /><br />But then, maybe you're only referring to his earlier years and giving exception to his later work, with Androids would certainly be.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13571452656553970472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-87867548302590963202009-08-16T20:49:28.101-04:002009-08-16T20:49:28.101-04:00Insofar as I understand the New-Weird genre, it...Insofar as I understand the New-Weird genre, it's a reactionary movement, primarily against the "Worldbuilding" theories of fantastic structure,<br /> Much as Alfred Bester wrote The Demolished Man, and Tiger! Tiger! as reactionary works (imo) against the horrors of the second world war, and the hierarchical structures emerging in a business/war cultural climate, the New-Weird writers are rebelling against standard and possibly outdated storytelling techniques, as well as our unique cultural climate.<br /> Contrast this with other writers from the fifties, especially Phil Dick. Dick was not a reactionary author. I feel that he wrote (especially during the early-mid fifties) as some sort of way of categorising the world around him. Keenly aware of the paranoia and strangeness happening around him, he writes to make sense of the modern world, not to hold a distorted mirror to it.<br /> I think you will find that very few authors who are labeled New-Weird would call themselves such, and I know that China Mieville detests the tag.<br /> I have a thousand more things to say, but as yet have not formulated the thoughts. I'll put them up if they come.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11242066948786580159noreply@blogger.com